A scorching June wedding at Woodlands Hotel Leeds.
Woodlands Hotel Wedding Photography. Kirsten and Tim were married at the gorgeous Woodlands hostel outside Leeds on an absolutely scorching Saturday in June. I was excited to be back at Woodlands as it had been a couple of years and I can’t get enough of their new orangery (and its air conditioning!).
Getting ready.
Hair and makeup preparations were in full force when I arrived, and we were joined by fab videographer Adam Morton from Relive the Magic Wedding Films, who I had never worked with before but was an absolute delight to spend the day with. Kirsten was yet to go through hair and makeup as so I left her for a few minutes to get some shots of her Madison James dress (which was beautiful & covered in the most amazing floral fabric), shoes, jewellery and the gorgeous flowers by Natasha Jane Events who is one of my absolute favourites. I ended up taking a lot of these photos in the bathroom because the tile floor in there was lovely and matched the pink in the bouquets perfectly. You never know where you’re going to find the best light sometimes!
Soon it was time for Kirsten to jump in the makeup chair so I got plenty of candid shots of her having her makeup done by Gina Ryan and plenty of shots of the bridesmaids enjoying a drink and having their own hair finished off. Once Kirsten ‘s hair was finished Adam and I nipped upstairs to see Tim who had arrived with his groomsmen and were getting ready in the bridal suite. It’s nice when the bride and groom get ready at the same venue and we time things well because it means I can nip back and forth and get some shots of them both getting ready.
It’s always a much quicker process with the guys, and shirts and trousers were on when we got up there so which was great it as that gave us a chance to get some details of them putting on ties, cufflinks and waist coats. We didn’t bother with jackets as it was absolutely roasting so we saved those for later! It was time then to nip back down and see if Kirsten was ready to get into her gown, and she was! I cleared a nice space in front of the French doors to get some of the lovely light shining on her as her bridesmaids did up the buttons on the back of her gown. She looked absolutely beautiful and the dress fitted her perfectly and was just the right style for her. The veil went in and she was ready to go! We had some time for some quick team shots and then Adam and I headed over to the ceremony room to wait for Kirsten to make her entrance.
Ceremony.
It was a bit of a tight fit at the front of the room with the registrars, Adam and I, plus the string quartet all squeezed in but we made it work! The light was lovely as the bridesmaids and then Kirsten and her dad made their way down the aisle towards a nervous looking Tim. The ceremony seemed to fly by, with vows and rings exchanged, and the deal was sealed with a kiss. Once the register was signed Kirsten & Tim walked back up the aisle as husband and wife and were showered with confetti as they went. Then it was outside onto the terrace for the guests to start grabbing drinks and canapés, whilst Kirsten Tim had a few minutes alone together.
Reception.
I couldn’t believe the temperature difference between the lovely air conditioned ceremony room and the boiling summer sunshine outside! It wasn’t long before Kirsten and Tim rejoined everybody to huge applause. We grabbed a few candid shots of them greeting their friends and family and then they wanted to make sure we got a group shot of everybody on the stairs at the back of Woodlands. Once this is done we decided to plow on with the rest of the group photos, eventually heading down into the shade where it was significantly cooler!
Kirsten & Tim needed a bit of a break then to grab their canapés and to spend some time with their guests, so Adam and I busied ourselves with some of the more informal candid photos and video of Kirsten and Tim enjoying the drinks reception with their friends and family in the summer sun. I also nipped inside to the orangery where the candles were lit so I could get lots of detail shots of everything set up for the wedding breakfast including the beautiful centrepieces again by Natasha Jane Events, and their lovely wedding cake with little figures of their adorable French Bulldogs who couldn’t make it on the day!
Speeches.
It was time then for some shots of just Kirsten and Tim so I grabbed them whilst I could and we headed back down onto the lawns into the shade of the trees to get lots of lovely relaxed pictures of just the two of them. The drinks reception seemed to whizz by very quickly and it wasn’t long before we were being waved inside by the wedding coordinator so that Kirsten and Tim could have a look at the orangery before the guests were then called to take their seats. They started the wedding breakfast with their speeches, and Kirsten’s brother Jason gave a speech on behalf of his mum and dad reading out a lovely letter that had been written to Kirsten from them, which was very moving. Then it was Tim’s turn and finally the two best men Chris and Dan who both did a fantastic job of keeping the crowd laughing. We left them alone then to enjoy their wedding breakfast and Adam and I went and had a bite to eat ourselves (thank you Kirsten and Tim for the delicious meal including dessert which I’m always very excited by!).
Evening.
A couple of hours later the guest started filling back out towards the bar and then onto the terrace for more drinks in the evening sunshine now that the temperature had dropped a bit. In the meantime the orangery was turned around for the evening reception – tables were moved to make space for the dance floor and for the DJ to set up. Once the guests were called back in it was time to cut the cake and then for Kirsten and Tim to get the party started with their first dance. A few spins and twists later everybody else was called on to join them and I got loads of great photos of everyone really throwing themselves into the music. There was a slight lull when Barry White came on and the dance floor did clear quite significantly, but Olly Murs seemed to kick things back up a gear and soon a big group reappeared on the dance floor throwing some mad shapes and suitably embarrassed themselves! Once the dance floor cleared again it was time for me to head home and leave Kirsten and Tim to enjoy the rest of their party. Massive thank you to these guys for trusting me to capture their wedding, it was an absolute honour and a joy. Thanks as well to Natasha Jane Events for recommending me. I love being back at Woodlands Hotel so if you are planning a wedding there and looking for a photographer then please do get in touch because I would love to hear more!
Venue: @hotelwoodlands
Videographer: @rtmfm
Florist: @natashajaneevents
Make up: @ginaryan_makeup
Hair: @ebonyhairdressing
Dress: @madison_james from @dottybridal
